Erdoğan expects US to remove additional steel tariffs

Speaking of Turkish-American economic ties at the American-Turkish Council (ATC) meeting Thursday in Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recalled his recent phone call with U.S. Donald Trump, during which the two leaders agreed to boost bilateral trade to $75 billion from its current level of $21 billion.

The president underscored the high performance of the Turkish business environment. "According to the World Bank report, Turkey climbed 17 places compared to the previous year thanks to the legislative amendments that eased doing business in the country," the president said. The country ranked 43rd in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business list for 2019.

Erdoğan also called on the U.S. administration to remove the additional tariffs imposed on Turkish steel and aluminium, which are an impediment to reaching bilateral trade target. On Aug. 10, 2018, the U.S. president said that he authorized the doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from Turkey. The U.S. levied 20 percent on aluminum and 50 percent on steel imports.

Turkey, however, brought the issue to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and won its first appeal against additional U.S. tariffs in December 2018. In retaliation, Turkey also increased tariffs on certain U.S.-origin products by more than 100 percent on Aug. 15, 2018.